Overview
- Lars Hinrichs has said his new MVNO, Simsalasim, will launch this week and sell a €10-per-month plan that reportedly offers unlimited mobile data in about 100 countries and unlimited calls and SMS in roughly 50 countries.
- The company plans to operate as a lean virtual operator that buys network capacity in Germany from Telefónica, uses eSIM activation only and runs most operations with heavy AI automation and about 25 employees.
- Hinrichs described AI features that can join, transcribe and translate calls and summarise missed calls, and he says current AI costs are about €80,000 a month, but those functions raise data‑protection and privacy questions.
- Industry experts and many readers question whether wholesale and roaming agreements, network prioritisation, the hotspot exclusion and a largely automated 25-person team can deliver reliable speeds, coverage and customer support.
- Reported funding of about $25 million and targets of millions of users remain unverified and the plan’s key technical, regulatory and service claims are currently journalistic reports that require independent confirmation.